Dinner for the elites was served.
（32）
A week later, Rusty was working from home on a Tuesday because Kirk was in the office. Even though flush with hidden cash, the brothers simply could not let go of their past, or their present for that matter.
Walt Kemp called and said they should meet for lunch. He wouldn’t give a reason but said it was important. Of course it was. They’d met for lunch maybe three times in the past ten years, so something was up. Rusty drove to the same Russian deli in Dutchtown, where he found Walt at the same table. They enjoyed the same egg-and-sprat sandwiches with Czech pilsner. Halfway through, Walt finally got around to business.
“So we got hired to watch another cheating husband, big divorce case. Ever hear of a guy named Jack Grimlow?”
“I know him.” Rusty nodded with a smug smile. “Sleazy political operative, works for the governor. Nicknamed Jackal.”
“Figured you’d know him. He runs the gals pretty hard and his wife is fed up. He doesn’t know it yet but she’s hired some really sharp divorce lawyers and they’re watching every move. We got the call, liked the money, and are now involved. Jackal’s got at least two full-time girlfriends and hits on everything else. A busy boy. His wife’ll pop him soon enough and he won’t know what hit him.”
“Terribly interesting and I wish him nothing but bad luck, but why am I hearing this?”
“Hang on. We couldn’t pick up his trail online or with his phones, so we hired some hackers to take a look.”
“That’s illegal in at least fifty states.”
“Thank you, Mr. Lawyer. We know that and we’re not stupid. The hackers, shall we say, are not U.S. citizens and work from the safety of Eastern Europe. They’re quite good, almost got caught when they went trolling through the CIA’s super-safe, hacker-proof systems about five years ago. You remember that?”
“No, and I’m barely hanging on here.”
“Almost there, Rusty, and it’ll be worth it. So, we’re watching Jackal’s secret emails and tracking him as he bed-hops around the state, always on official business following the governor around. Seems like the gov, too, likes an occasional frolic and Jackal can always arrange things.”
“You’re kidding?”
“Got the proof, but I digress. Anyway, we found some emails that were unrelated to women but directly related to a scheme of selling pardons.”
“Sturgiss is selling pardons?”
“Don’t be surprised. It’s happened before in other states, not recently and not very often, but it has happened. The governor has an absolute right to pardon anybody convicted of a state crime, and that could be worth some money.” Kemp drained his beer and wiped his mustache. “Now, you gotta figure that since most guys in prison don’t have a dime and they come from low-income families, the customer base for selling pardons is quite small.”
“That’s pretty obvious.”
“But, for someone who understands politics and whose family can put together some cash, it might work.”
“I’m following.”
“You also gotta figure that Sturgiss is not a wealthy man and will leave office now or in four years without a lot of assets. Why not make some easy bucks, sign your name a few times, sell some pardons, take the cash and bury it somewhere? With an operator like Jackal doing the dirty work, it’s a piece of cake.”
“I think I know where this is going.”
Kemp looked at his empty plate and then looked at Rusty’s. “You finished?”
“I am now.”
Kemp glanced around and almost whispered, “Good. Let’s walk to my office around the corner and I’ll show you an email that might interest you.”
“I can’t wait.”
Kemp’s office was an old store on a street lined with the same. It had been gutted and refurbished. With its worn pine floors, brick walls, and high ceilings, it was more attractive than Rusty expected. They walked into a long conference room with wide screens on both ends. Kemp opened a laptop, scrolled and pecked, found what he wanted and looked at one of the big screens.
He said, “This is an email Jackal received on one of his hidden accounts, three weeks ago. His address is [email protected]. The sender is [email protected]. Have no idea who the sender really is.”
Rusty gawked at the screen and slowly read the email: “Eyeballs with BM at Saliba CC, confirmed agreement at two mil, full and complete, done after January.”